Emporium Presents & Live Nation


Flatland Cavalry

Colby Acuff

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm


Fillmore Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA

Flatland Cavalry

www.flatlandcavalry.com/#/


Flatland Cavalry is breaking out into a gallop. After years of hot trotting across their native Texas, the country outfit is primed for a breakout with the release of their third full-length album, the sonically sprawling and wistfully written Welcome to Countryland.

The Texas sextet––bandleader and chief lyricist Cleto Cordero, guitarist Reid Dillon, bassist Jonathan Saenz, drummer Jason Albers, fiddle player Wesley Hall, and utility instrumentalist Adam Gallegos––continue to embrace their trademark sound while further pushing into the wild unknown. When it was time to embark on recording a new album, resting on their laurels was simply out of the realm of possibilities.

Following the release of 2019’s critically-acclaimed Homeland Insecurity and their 2016 full-length debut Humble Folks, they’ve been on a healthy trajectory rising through the country ranks. After years of working with Lubbock stalwart Scott Faris in the friendly confines of Amusement Park Studios, Flatland decided a change of scenery was necessary. Despite some hesitation and a mix of emotions, they instantly knew recording at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studio A with rising producer Jake Gear was the right move.

Since its release, Welcome To Countryland has garnered critical praise from Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, Holler, Whiskey Riff, BrooklynVegan and many other outlets. The band concluded their hugely successful Welcome To Countryland Tour by selling out Billy Bob’s Texas in December 2021, and kicked off 2022 with the release of the Far Out West Sessions. These stripped-down, one-take acoustic performance videos of their 2021 hits recorded on-site in the vast deserts and mountain ranges of Far West Texas were an instant hit with fans, so the band released the tapes on streaming platforms and embarked on the Far Out West Tour.

With tour dates from Seattle to London, festival debuts from C2C to Stagecoach, and coveted support slots with Luke Combs, Eric Church and more, the Far Out West Tour brought Flatland Cavalry to new corners of the globe. As 2022 neared its end they surprise-released the highly anticipated single “Mountain Song” and announced an EP to arrive in the Fall.

With more new music on the horizon, 17 upcoming stadium shows with Luke Combs, and a stacked touring calendar for 2024, Flatland Cavalry is approaching global influence in the Country & Folk music world.

Colby Acuff

www.colbyacuff.com/


Sometimes it seems like country has forgotten its wild roots – or least outgrown them, changing as it has to reflect an ever-evolving world. Then there’s a guy like Colby Acuff.

A fourth generation Idaho native with a rugged spirit true to his mountain home, honest-to-a-fault lyrics and a sound as raw as the remote wilderness, Acuff’s untamed brand of country stands proudly apart in today’s format, pure and untouched by modern gimmicks.

Self-taught and largely self-contained, he’s already used it to find success on his own terms – and with new major-label backing from Sony Music Nashville, plans to do the same nationwide. … Just don’t expect him to follow the pack.

“If you wanna do something right, you’ve gotta do it yourself,” Acuff says, speaking with the hardscrabble charm of an old-soul troubadour.

Hailing from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a Rocky Mountain oasis near the very top of the continental U.S., that proudly-independent attitude forms the heart of Acuff’s outgoing personality – and a creative drive stretching all the way back.

Growing up, Acuff was always busy with three things – fishing, duck hunting and making music – and it was music that captured his imagination. He learned piano at 5, drums at 9 and guitar at 11, took the stage for the first time at 12 and was even writing songs by 15 – and even those early efforts were unique, inspired by bold artistic outliers.

Favorites included bluegrass trailblazers like Flatt & Scruggs, who broke away from the great Bill Monroe to go their own way, plus country “outlaws” like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson – some of the first to successfully buck the Nashville system. Even modern-day mavericks like Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers have his admiration, although Acuff has always followed his own winding path. So winding, in fact, he eventually wondered what else he could do … and with typical go-your-own-way flair, went and found out.

Studying economics in college, Acuff excelled in finance, sold real estate for rent money and was even offered a job as a junior stockbroker – a cushy opportunity for any recent graduate. But he turned it down cold. He could have worked 15 years and been handed a successful business, Acuff explains. But that wasn’t him. As much as he bristled at the thought of office life, even worse would be following a course he didn’t chart himself.

Instead, Acuff became a fly-fishing guide, spending days on the river and selling out bars each night. The hometown hero traveled the Northwest releasing three independent albums from 2020 through 2022, including the “life changing” If I Were the Devil. A mix of plainspoken vocals, piercing lyrics and country heart as sturdy as Rocky Mountain granite, he dug deep into his soul and the wild country around him, with themes so vivid and distinct they were somehow universal.

From two-stepping honky tonk anthems with a frontier philosopher’s eye, to serene campfire confessions, full of spiritual scar tissue and road-weary wisdom, each one was written solo and pulled straight from the life he actually lived – and because of that, none were your “typical” country song.

“I’ve never written for radio, I’ve never written for anything other than me and my fans – and I don’t write love songs,” Acuff says with a laugh. “My girlfriend hates that about me.”

Dark, stormy and desolate, “If I Were the Devil” was a fitting example and has now been streamed more than 27 million times. Meanwhile, Acuff’s career total has surpassed 42 million, and a new frontier lays ahead.

Working with acclaimed producer/engineer Eddie Spear (Zach Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Cody Jinks), Acuff’s first major label project is in motion, recorded with a new team of top-flight talent at Nashville’s Sound Emporium. Another batch of gritty, solo-written songs – plus the first ever co writes of a promising career – it will help introduce a country talent as wild and free as the Idaho mountains themselves. But despite his new chapter, he’s got no plans of taming down.

“You’ve got two options: you can make music for you and the people who are gonna hear it, or you can make music for the people who are gonna pay for it,” Acuff says. “And I always lean toward making music for you and your fans.”

Additional Information

Ages: All Ages

Seating: General Admission